Halloween Happenings

About 100 costume-clad children and their families met at the Veteran’s Memorial Park last Wednesday in Malta ahead of the annual Halloween Parade, running around and scurry about until the official whistle sounded to start the event.

From there, the parade made their way through downtown, in and out of the local businesses, collecting candy before nightfall when Halloween really got rolling in Malta.

A week before the parade, the Phillips County Ambulance Association (PCAA) held their 15th annual Haunted House at which 300 courageous souls braved the spooky corridors set up beneath Stretch’s Pizza. Gina Lamb, PCAA member and head ghoul at the Haunted House, said that the 300 visitors showed up over the two nights and a total of 13 horrific scenes were manned by a total of 36 volunteers.

“The Phillips County Ambulance Association will be donating $500 to the Malta Boys & Girls Club to repair the roof of the Old St. Mary's School Building,” Lamb said of monies raised at the Haunted House.

Another Halloween tradition, the Trick or Treat for the Food Bank, was held on October 24 in which local church youth groups traveled around the City on foot collecting canned goods for the benefit of the Malta Food Bank. This year, Lamb said a total of 230-pounds were donated, collected and given to the Food Bank.

As for Halloween night, light raindrops fell for most of the evening and though the north side of town seemed a little dead for trick or treating (pun intended) the Hillcrest subdivision was alive with hundreds of treat gatherers.